Top 6 demand contributes to Championship clubs' imminent Cup exit

As first reported by The Sunday Times, next season’s Premiership Rugby Cup could be played without any Championship teams involved, despite second-tier outfits giving the development competition a much-needed added dimension.

Spearheaded by Ealing Trailfinders, who have made the semi-finals in each of the last two seasons, several Championship clubs have taken Premiership scalps since they joined the fold two years ago, and some like Coventry have enjoyed some of their best crowds in years.

While there have been some frightful blow-outs since Championship clubs joined in, to win 11 and draw two of the 72 cross-league fixtures is no mean feat given the huge disparity in funding the clubs receive. Premiership clubs receive £33million a year in funding from the RFU, which dwarfs the £133,000/year handed out to each Championship club.

Ealing, who could win the Cup and not be able to defend it next season, have won five matches against Premiership opposition, Bedford and Coventry have two wins apiece and the now defunct Jersey Reds and Doncaster have each chalked up a win against the big boys.

But with Premier Rugby Limited (PRL), who run the Cup, refusing to make their Championship brethren equal commercial partners, English rugby’s second-tier clubs have chosen to walk away.

And then there were four… 🏆

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RugbyPass understands that PRL were rumoured to be pushing to only include the top six Championship clubs from next season, which was understandably ill received by a league that had already seen two of its member clubs axed.

Newly-promoted Chinnor and bottom-of-the-table Cambridge were excluded from this season’s competition to make it a 20-team event and were subsequently left to part fill the gaps left in their fixture calendars by playing each other, home and away, in the ironically titled, ‘Not the Premiership Cup’.

Championship clubs will not bring the unloved Championship Cup back to life, with the league’s organisers preferring instead to focus on making a success of the new Tier 2 League.

It is believed that the newly branded Tier 2 League will be unveiled at some point in April and will feature more clubs than the current set up of 12. Expanding the league will help to offset the loss of Cup fixtures and keep money coming into the clubs through matchday revenue.

Meanwhile, next season’s Premiership Rugby Cup will feature two five-team groups, guaranteeing four home fixtures, which explains why top-flight clubs have been advertising season ticket packages including 15 home matches – nine league, two Investec Champions Cup, and now four in the Cup as opposed to three. With so many repeat fixtures in the pipeline, that will be a tough sell.

The 2024/25 Premiership Rugby Cup semi-finals take place this weekend, with Newcastle at home to Bath on Friday night, as both clubs look to go one step closer to ending their trophy droughts. That game will be live on TNT Sports, as will Exeter’s clash with Ealing, at Sandy Park on Saturday lunchtime.